

SOME SUGGESTIONS 

ON 


| PHOTOGRAPHS 

§ v OF 

I TILE WORK 


= PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE 

TILE BUSINESS BY 

| THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 

1 BEAVER FALLS, PA. 



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SOME SUGGESTIONS 


PHOTOGRAPHS 

OF 

TILE WORK 


PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE 
TILE BUSINESS BY 

THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 

BEAVER FALLS, PA. 


Tl?fc90 

. A 8 


PREFACE 

Tkis booklet is addressed to the tile dealer 
wko wants better photographs of his work 
than he has been able to obtain in the past. 
It is not a textbook on commercial 
photography. Nor does it even pretend to 
cover the elements of photography. The 
text is really a compilation of notes made 
from time to time while selecting photographs 
for advertising purposes. Only those points 
were incorporated that seemed of value to 
the tile dealer when instructing his photo¬ 
grapher and when passing judgment on the 
final prints. 


< t 
1/ 

NOV 1519/7 

©Cl. A 4 79072 


Copyright 1917, by 
The Associated Tile Manufacturers 


SOME SUGGESTIONS 
ON 

PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


The value of a photo¬ 
graph as an instrument of 
tile promotion work rests 
with three salient neces¬ 
saries. First and above all, 
the photograph should show 
a good tile job, something 
readily recognized. Sec¬ 
ondly, it should have artis¬ 
tic, that is to say, pictorial 
qualities. Thirdly, it should 
possess that degree of tech¬ 
nical excellence, finish, tone, 
etc., which distinguishes 
the serious work of expert 
photographers and special¬ 
ists from the nondescript 
perpetrations of the dilet¬ 
tante. 

The first requirement has 
proved a reef on which 
many a boat has been 
wrecked, for the most thor¬ 
oughly trained and high- 
priced photographer cannot 
efface the setter’s and de¬ 
signer’s sins. Few serious 
attempts have been ob¬ 
served that wholly satisfy 
the second requirement, and 


only in rare cases have dis¬ 
crimination and care been 
exercised to make certain 
of the third. 

We shall therefore pass 
in review those essential 
factors which tend to bring 
about or enter into the pro¬ 
duction of good photo¬ 
graphs without, however, 
venturing into a boundless 
jungle of unnecessary de¬ 
tail. 

Always we must hold in 
mind that to us any photo¬ 
graph is a means to an end; 
its sole object is to set forth 
effectively and convincing¬ 
ly the practical worth and 
artistic merit of tile. Every 
effort should be put forth, 
every device employed and 
every principle of good 
taste applied to depict tile 
and tile work to the most 
telling advantage. 

Considering the undeni¬ 
able value of pictures as 
sales mediums and the last¬ 
ing impression they leave 


4 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


on the mind, the production filled, else the result will 
of photographs of tile work defeat all efforts to in- 
should not be left to luck or terest, enthuse and con- 
chance. A range of impor- vince a prospective user of 
tant requisites must be ful- tile. 



A pleasing picture. One of the rare cases where the station point is 
confined to the center of the room,. The hanging flower baskets relieve the 
monotony of the ceiling and force the eye doion toward the floor. 


A mere picture cannot 
fill the bill. A poor photo¬ 
graph is worse than none. 
Only by careful selection of 
subject, good photography 
and premeditation of ef¬ 
fects can a picture of last¬ 
ing value as a sales medium 
be evolved. 


All of our photographs 
must cater to the inherent 
love of mankind for the 
beautiful, no matter how 
practical a subject they de¬ 
pict. Along the lanes of 
this fundamental human 
trait our appeal can be 
made with least resistance. 





























PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


5 


The charm of a beautiful 
picture arouses the esthetic 
sense and excites an impul¬ 
sive desire for possession. 
In this way the picture of 
an exquisite kitchen or 
bathroom causes admira¬ 


tion—a sort of pleasure— 
that tends to create a want, 
an ostensible need, for a 
similarly attractive kitchen 
or bathroom. The tile con¬ 
tractor eventually partici¬ 
pates in that pleasure. 



“Spittoons” might be suggested as an appropriate title for this picture. 
Why not remove them for a few minutes and give the tile a chance to 
become more prominent? 


Selection of Subject 
The initial step is the 
selection of the proper kind 
of a job. Jobs of appeal 
and in harmony with the 
sentiments of everybody 
constitute the most desir¬ 


able subjects. Consider the 
sentiments of people in 
general and avoid as much 
as possible tile work in¬ 
stalled in close proximity to 
water closets, urinals and 
similar places. To picture 










6 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


such spots with delicacy re¬ 
quires unusual skill and 
had better not be attempted. 

The abolition of bar¬ 
rooms in many sections of 
the country and a growing 
antipathy to them in oth¬ 
ers, render pictures of them 
unsuitable for general use; 
in fact, they may be the 
dirct cause of turning a 
prospect’s attitude against 
tile. 

Workmanship 

Naturally, the next step 
to consider is the workman¬ 
ship of the job to be photo¬ 
graphed. Workmanship is 
a complex topic when it 
comes to tile work, and 
to define its consummate 
meaning shall not be at¬ 
tempted here. The tile con¬ 
tractor himself, better than 
anyone else, knows the axi¬ 
oms of good workmanship. 
While there are any num¬ 
ber of intermediate degrees 
of excellence, it should not 
be difficult to distinguish 
between an actually good 
job and a poor one. How¬ 
ever, pay especial attention 
to careful layout and fitting 
of tile into given spaces, to 
uniformity, neatness and 
geometrical accuracy. 
Avoid jobs sprinkled with 


“dutchmen.” Incorrect use 
of trim shapes is also a 
defect. 

Design 

The design is one of the 
first things we notice in a 
photograph. Let this first 
impression be pleasing. 

By design is meant that 
part of the tile work which 
deals with deliberate plan¬ 
ning and arrangement. It 
has to do with the execution 
of an idea, an inspiration, 
that arises out of the condi¬ 
tions peculiar to each job. 

Appropriateness, utility 
and delight are the ultimate 
objects of design. Good 
design is therefore a rela¬ 
tive term, but no tile job 
can be called “good” unless 
the design also deserves the 
attribute “good.” 

A design can be original, 
elaborate, decorative, stun¬ 
ning, striking or symbolic 
without being artistic— 
without being tasteful, 
beautiful, pleasing and fit¬ 
ting. In spite of the former 
characteristics, it may be 
crude, commonplace, irri¬ 
tating or unsuited. There 
can be too much or too lit¬ 
tle, too large or too small, 
too light or too heavy de¬ 
sign. 



7 


PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 



This flaming design seems just a trifle too insistent and there appears 
to be too much of it. Note that the joints of the dark tile work have 
disappeared, that the perpendicular lines are not parallel to *he edges of 
the print and that the entire print is covered with white spots and 
scratches. 


There is no basis for the 
current presumption that a 
design must of necessity be 
in colors. Any white wall, 
for instance, may be the ob¬ 
ject of good .design, and 
pleasing effects produced 
in monochrome by variety 
and rhythm in size, shape 
and direction of units in 
combination with the joints, 
make excellent photo¬ 
graphs. 


In all cases, it becomes a 
matter of good taste and 
judgment to decide between 
desirable and unsuitable 
jobs for our purpose. 

Photographer 

After a number of jobs 
have been selected, arises 
the problem of finding a 
capable photographer. A 
man who has had experi¬ 
ence in architectural or 












































8 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


commercial work should be 
secured, an expert with 
wider knowledge than that 
of mere mechanism and 
chemical details; he should 
be able to submit satisfac¬ 
tory samples. There is 
more to real photography 
than just pressing the bulb. 
As there exists a vast dif¬ 
ference between tile con¬ 
tractors and tile contrac¬ 
tors, so is there an equally 
deep gap between photog¬ 
raphers. The mere fact that 
a photographer charges a 
high price for his work is 
no indicator of great abil¬ 
ity nor value in his work. 

A few “Don’ts” may not 
be out of place in this con¬ 
nection : 

1. Don’t try to take pic¬ 
tures of tile work yourself. 

2. Don’t think any por¬ 
trait photographer can do 
it. 

3. Don’t give the work 
to the lowest-priced man on 
account of cheapness; it is 
poor economy. 

4. Don’t leave every¬ 
thing to the judgment of 
the photographer. 

No matter how “good” a 
photographer is engaged, 
it is advisable to go over 
the ground with him, give 


him instructions in regard 
to the part to be photo¬ 
graphed, point out any im¬ 
portant or peculiar fea¬ 
tures, things that should be 
brought out or those to be 
omitted or subdued. It will 
help him considerably to 
know what the essentials 
and peculiarities of tile 
work are. Also, a few pen¬ 
cil strokes will often indi¬ 
cate to him what is wanted 
much better and quicker 
than the most careful ver¬ 
bal instructions. A good 
photographer and a good 
tile man make an excellent 
team. 

Viewpoint 

Much depends on the 
selection of an advantag- 
ous viewpoint, or, in other 
words, where to set up the 
camera. The more care the 
photographer exercises in 
determining this point, the 
more surely can a satisfac¬ 
tory result be expected. 

Assuming for the time 
that the entire room is tiled 
uniformly, the location of 
this point is influenced by 
various factors: location of 
the windows or other 
sources of illumination and 
the resulting distribution 
of light and shade; extent 




PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


9 


of the subject to be photo- middle distance, the equip- 
graphed as to width and ment or furnishings, the 
height; the lens of the cam- nature of the design, and 
era; by the foreground and similar conditions. 



An excellent tile job — maybe—but one cannot 
tell from this picture. Artificial lighting and level¬ 
ing up of the camera would have made quite a 
difference. 


Light 

Photography is impossi¬ 
ble without light. Yet, in 
the photograph, shade is as 
necessary as light. But 
shade should never be so 
impenetrable nor light so 
bright that details are lost 
entirely. The illumination 
must be of such character 
“that the parts represented 
in shadow shall still have 
the clearness and warmth 
of those in light, and those 
in light the depth and soft¬ 
ness of those in shadow.” 


This can be controlled to 
a greater extent than seems 
possible at first thought. 
In most cases the desired 
illumination may be ob¬ 
tained by watching and 
waiting till the best natural 
lighting conditions occur. 
Watch for that time of day 
when the particular portion 
of the tile work to be pho¬ 
tographed is illuminated to 
the best advantage, which 
may be in the early morn¬ 
ing, at noon, or late in the 
afternoon. 






10 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


On the other hand, some 
subjects never receive ade¬ 
quate or suitable illumina¬ 
tion naturally, and in such 
cases artificial light must 
be resorted to. 

Sunlight—of all sources 
of light—is the strongest, 
not only in regard to 
brightness, but also in re¬ 
spect to chemical action on 
the sensitized photographic 
plate; and, by the way, it 
is the cheapest. Keep in 
mind that detail is lost in 
extremely bright light and 
very dark shade; that the 
brighter the source of light, 
the stronger the contrast 
between light and dark 
portions of the picture and 
the sharper the edges of 
shadows. Excessive inten¬ 
sity can be reduced by put¬ 
ting white or light blue tis¬ 
sue paper over all or some 
of the windows, over the 
entire opening or portions 
of it, just as may be re¬ 
quired to produce a specific 
lighting effect. 

Much improvement can 
often be made by equaliza¬ 
tion, especially in the upper 
and generally darker por¬ 
tions of walls, by shutting 
out some of the light enter¬ 
ing through the lower 
panes. This will also serve 


to make the lighting of 
floors more uniform. Ordi¬ 
nary window shades are 
usually too opaque and shut 
out too much light, and 
when drawn down over the 
upper panes are apt to 
throw the ceiling and 
higher portions of walls in¬ 
to impenetrable darkness, 
as illustrated by the cut on 
page 11. 

White tile work looks 
pleasing and natural only 
when the photograph shows 
it white, not gray. Its 
lightest portion should be 
selected as subject for the 
picture, not the darkest (as 
was done in the photograph 
on page 12). Owing to 
greater contrast, white tile 
in a strong, bright light 
gives snappier pictures 
than in diffused light, pro¬ 
vided care is taken that re¬ 
flections do not occur in the 
principal sections of the 
work. (See “Reflections”). 
With tile work in colors 
the opposite is true and this 
class of work demands a 
soft diffused light, or the 
fine gradations of tone are 
destroyed. But even in 
such cases, a uniformly 
lighted surface, without any 
shade whatever, is not de¬ 
sirable. It always looks 





PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


11 




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The opaque window-shades put the upper portion of walls into dark¬ 
ness. Tissue paper over the lower panes and clear upper panes would have 
given better results, even the floor shadow would then have been lighter 


flat and monotonous be¬ 
cause, as has already been 
said, shade is as important 
as light in producing a 
pleasing picture; deep 
shade, however, should not 
occur in the main portions 
of the tile work or where it 
will detract. At least part 
of the tile work should re¬ 
ceive full light, for parts in 
full light are usually the 
ones to attract the eye. 


Very light subjects can 
be photographed also by 
double exposure, that is, by 
first exposing for one sec¬ 
ond or less in bright sun¬ 
light and using diffused 
light during the remainder 
of the necessary time of 
exposure. 

Generally speaking, light 
should not come from two 
opposite directions, since 
this does away with all 






















12 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


shade and gives a “flat” 
picture. In rooms having- 
windows on opposite sides, 
the light from one set of 
windows may be shut off 
sufficiently to allow the 
other set to cast some 
shadow. Do not shut off all 
the light, but use tissue 


paper or similar material 
as described above. 

A certain amount of re¬ 
flection is desirable, espe¬ 
cially in white glazed work, 
but spotty effects should be 
avoided. (See “Reflec¬ 
tions”) . 



Why the darkest portion of tile work was selected is hard to see. 
Entire background is affected by halation. Camera was slightly tilted up 
and sidewards, as indicated by slanting wall at the left 


Flashlights and the result so uncertain 

Flashlights rarely pro- that one can never tell with 
duce satisfactory photo- any degree of certainty how 
graphs of tile work. Their the picture is going to look, 
manipulation is so difficult because the image on the 





PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


13 


ground glass or focusing 
screen is observed under 
entirely different lighting 
conditions than those oc¬ 
curring during the flash, 
unless while focusing 
strong electric lights (with¬ 
out shade or reflector) are 
placed in exactly the same 
position where the flash or 
flashes will be fired. 



Note the effect of a flashlight 
fired directly behind the camera. 
The chopped-off top of the mantel 
is disappointing. Camera should 
have been set up with the long 
side up. 

The broad lights and 
shadows of flashlight illum¬ 
ination are characteristic 
of an unnatural absence of 
detail, and are always de¬ 
void of enjoyable grada¬ 
tions. At best, flashlights 
produce ghastly effects, 
glary whites, impenetrable 
shadows and extensive re¬ 
flections. The practical de¬ 
duction is this—flashlights 
should be used only when 


no other, more satisfactory 
means of lighting can be 
employed. Yet a flashlight 
is better than no light at all. 

Never fire the flash di¬ 
rectly behind the camera 
when the wall is parallel to 
the picture plane. It will 
surely result in extensive 
and glaring reflection and 
increase the possibility of 
“fogging” the plate. To 
avoid danger of fire and to 
retain the smoke, flash¬ 
lights should be fired in 
fireproof bags manufac¬ 
tured for this purpose. 

Artificial Light 

Commercial photograph¬ 
ers have perfected various 
methods of artificial light¬ 
ing. In one of them an 
electric searchlight with re¬ 
flector on the order of auto¬ 
mobile headlights is em¬ 
ployed. The rays of light 
are directed over either the 
entire subject or dark 
portions during exposure. 
Whole rooms can thus be 
photographed with excel¬ 
lent results, without the aid 
of any other source of light. 
In fact, some of the best 
pictures of interiors have 
been produced in this way 
and show astonishing defi¬ 
nition of detail. Store win¬ 
dows and arcades can be 














14 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 



Can one wish for a better photograph in a urindowless room? 


photographed at night in 
this manner. But it is also 
used and recommended in 
combination with daylight 
for lightening up dark por¬ 
tions and deep shadows. 
The time of exposure must 
then be lengthened by 
“stopping down” the dia¬ 
phragm opening. Such ap¬ 
paratus must, naturally, be 
manipulated by a man who 
is familiar with its effect. 
Good results can be ex¬ 
pected only where the light 


is moved over the subject 
with uniformity and in 
various directions—up and 
down, sideways and diag¬ 
onally—otherwise the fin¬ 
ished picture will show 
streaks and spots. 

When the subject is small 
—as a fireplace, for in¬ 
stance — dark sections or 
corners may also be light¬ 
ened up by hanging or hold¬ 
ing sheets of paper or cloth 
facing such portions. 




























PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


15 


Any good photographer 
knows all these tricks, and 
they are mentioned here 
solely to show that a num¬ 
ber of means and ways are 
available to overcome ob¬ 
stacles, and that lack of 
adequate or suitable light is 
no reason for giving up as 
hopeless the photographing 
of an otherwise desirable 
tile subject. 

Reflections and 
Highlights 

Anything as shining and 
glistening as glazed tile 
should convey to the mind 
this desirable mirror-like 
smoothness, polish and bril¬ 
liancy in its photographic 
reproductions. It cannot 
appear so, however, with¬ 
out reflections. Concrete 
and stone walls have no 
highlights and reflections, 
and the mind thereby rec¬ 
ognizes their texture and 
identifies them. In photo¬ 
graphs of tile work we 
must have highlights and 
reflections or lose the key to 
their identification. These 
practical considerations are 
expressed for the benefit of 
those who anxiously strive 
to eliminate every trace of 
solar tinsel and find no rest 
till the last speck of 


warmth and joy and play 
of light is eradicated—with 
the result that tile finally 
looks as dead and barren as 
a cellar floor. 

True, reflections can de¬ 
stroy or mar pleasing ef¬ 
fects and can be overdone 
like any good thing, but as 
a rule such conditions can 
be remedied by correcting 
the disturbing light effect, 
or faulty lighting. 

By faulty lighting we 
have reference to instances 
where the rays of light do 
not strike the tile at a 
proper angle; this defect 
can be remedied by one or 
a combination of “tricks of 
the trade.” (See “Light”). 
Without question, some way 
can always be found that 
retains a vital amount of 
light for exposure and the 
highlights on the tile, but at 
the same time eliminates 
extensive and disturbing 
reflections. 

Halation 

Halation is a common 
fault of pictures that in¬ 
clude windows, burning 
lights, etc., and can serious¬ 
ly mar a picture. An excess 
of light streaming into a 
room through windows or 
radiated by powerful elec- 



16 


the associated tile manufacturers 




Note the difference in these illustrations as far as lights and lighting 
are concerned. In the upper one each globe is sharp, and the detail ™ 
distinct. In the lower one there is halation around each lighting jtxti i 
and the whole room seems filled with a mist. See “Halation . 


























PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


17 


trie lights on the tile—espe¬ 
cially white tile—often re¬ 
sults in a glare and myriad 
of tiny reflections in differ¬ 
ent directions, and either 
much of the detail is oblit¬ 
erated or adjacent areas 
are reproduced much 
lighter than the rest. This 
defect can be avoided by 
the use of special plates, so- 
called non-halation plates. 
Insist upon your photogra¬ 
pher using them for all 
your work. Films are free 
from this shortcoming. 


graphs. All photographs 
are rendered in perspec¬ 
tive, but as we shall see, 
some emphasize or distort 
perspective. The severe 
geometrical character of 
tile work requires especial¬ 
ly good perspective. 

The perspective of a pho¬ 
tograph depends on the 
focal length and view-angle 
of the lens, the station point 
and the level set-up of the 
camera. Focal length, 
view-angle and station 
point are reciprocal and 



Perspective and Lenses 

The eye is accustomed 
to perceive three dimen¬ 
sions and their regular di¬ 
minution as they recede 
more and more from the 
eye. This peculiarity of vis¬ 
ion must be apparent and 
seem natural in our photo¬ 


will be treated together. 

Every subject has what 
might be called its natural 
viewing distance and view¬ 
ing height, and a photo¬ 
graph showing the subject 
as it appears to the naked 
eye from that point is more 
pleasing and natural than 





















18 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 



This photograph has some very desirable, but also some undesirable 
qualities. Very pleasing is the lighting effect, and the sharply cut, clear 
shadows cast by the roof and arches are especially charming. The fountain 
occupies a good place in the picture, much better than if right in the center. 
A little more of the roof and sky could have been obtained by raising the 
lensboard (without tilting the camera). This also would have completed 
the capital of the column and made it less objectionable in the foreground. 
The unfinished floor and pond, the ladder, barrel and rubbish are hideous. 







PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


19 



What a wide-angle lens will do. Note how close to the object the 
picture teas taken. Remember this • for crowded quarters. 


another of the same subject 
viewed from a lesser or 
greater distance or eleva¬ 
tion. 

To make this clearer, let 
us assume that a fireplace 
were to be photographed 
(Fig. 1). In order to take 
in the entire view of a five- 
foot fireplace comfortably 
with the naked eye, we 
would station ourselves 
about ten or twelve feet 
away (A) and look at it 
from a height of five or six 
feet. We do this uncon¬ 


sciously, for the horizontal 
angle formed by the vision¬ 
al rays between the eye and 
the extreme left and right 
ends of the fireplace will 
then correspond to the 
natural visional angle of 
the human eye, somewhere 
around twenty-five degrees. 
This, then, gives us a clue 
where and how high to set 
up the camera, provided we 
have a lens with a similar 
view-angle (a long-focus 
lens). 

But we may also assume 


























20 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


the same fireplace viewed 
from an easy-chair in front 
of it into which we have 
settled down determined to 
dig through these pages. 
In this position (B) we 
would not be able to take in 
the entire face of the man¬ 
tel without moving the 
eyes. Moreover, instead of 
looking down on it from an 
elevation of five or six feet, 
we should see it from a 
height of, say, three feet. 
Now, we might call this a 
natural viewing distance 
also, and feel justified in 
doing so. But we shall di¬ 
rectly see wherein we are 
mistaken. If we set up our 
camera equipped with the 
twenty-five degree lens at 


this point we find that only 
one-third of the fireplace 
appears on the focusing 
screen. Should we be 
forced to photograph the 
entire fireplace from this 
point, we would have to em¬ 
ploy a lens with a view- 
angle of at least sixty de¬ 
grees. But the minute we 
do this we lose the very 
quality of naturalness in 
the perspective that has 
been emphasized as highly 
desirable. 

When a small subject is 
photographed, as a mantel, 
this shortcoming does not 
affect our picture seriously. 
But supposing we wish to 
photograph part of an aver¬ 
age room 16 x 24 feet in 



Fig. 2 







PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


21 



Fig, 3 


size. Figures 2 and 3 
plainly show what portion 
of the room we could expect 
to reproduce with lenses of 
different view-angle from a 
fixed station point. AA is 
the portion included by the 
natural view-angle of twen¬ 
ty-five degrees; BB, that of 
the ordinary anastigmat. 
With CC, we enter into the 
wide-angle lenses, and DD 
indicates the extensive cov¬ 
ering power of the extreme 



Note the distortion in perspective 
of the end icalls due to tilting the 
camera. 


wide-angle. Were this 
same room only fourteen 
feet long instead of twenty- 
four, as shown by the 
dashed line, we can see that 
no other but a wide-angle 
lens could be used to photo¬ 
graph an entire wall. 

This brings us to the con¬ 
clusion that in large-sized 
rooms we can expect to get 
very near to natural per¬ 
spective and should demand 
it in our photographs. But 
we also know that this qual¬ 
ity must be sacrificed in 
photographing small rooms. 
And so we have drifted 
from perspective into a 
consideration of lenses. 

Not by any manner of 
means is it possible to say 
just what lens to use for 
the class of work in which 
we are interested, no mat¬ 
ter how much we should 
like to do so. But it can’t 



















22 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


be done! Remember, the 
lens must be chosen with 
regard to the station point. 

The best all-around lens 
is an anastigmat of the 
symmetrical type having a 
focal length of not less than 
the dimension of the long 
side of the plate, which in 
our case would be ten 
inches. As soon as the focal 
length falls below this di¬ 
mension, the perspective 
will become violent. Anas- 
tigmats have many advan¬ 
tages : they have great 
depth, cover a good-sized 
field, reproduce all objects 
in the same plane without 
distortion, give uniform 
sharpness and can be used 
under a great variety of 
circumstances. 

Wide-angle lenses find ex¬ 
tensive use in architectural 
work and render valuable 
service in crowded quar¬ 
ters. But photographers 
are apt to use them for all 
interior work indiscrimi¬ 
nately, irrespective of the 
available space; and this 
should be prevented. For 
as we have seen, these 
lenses accentuate the per¬ 
spective, make a room ap¬ 
pear much bigger than it 
actually is and picture ob¬ 
jects near the camera not 


only too large but also 
disagreeably foreshortened. 
And in all this work we 
must be determined to ob¬ 
tain as much naturalness 
and truth as possible. Any 
subject should be ap¬ 
proached with this clearly 
in mind. We would rather 
have a smaller portion of 
tile work shown in natural 
perspective any day in 
preference to a larger sec¬ 
tion obtained at the expense 
of naturalness. 

Some photograp ti¬ 
ers avoid the use of wide- 
angles by placing plate 
glass or polished metal mir¬ 
rors—as clear and correct 
as possible—in place of the 
camera and then photo¬ 
graph the picture mirrored 
in it. Unfortunately, this 
is practical only where the 
subjects are of moderate 
size. 

For completeness’ sake, 
mention should be made of 
“telephoto” lenses. They 
offer advantages in very 
large buildings, in churches, 
etc., when it is impossible 
to set up the camera close 
to the object on account of 
intervening fixtures or 
pews. 

Now, the tile man will 
have little to do with the 



photographs of tile work 


selection of the proper lens, 
and probably cares less. 
But we have treated this 
problem in detail, so that 
he will know, in selecting 
his subjects , what may be 
expected and what not. He 


23 


will then try to avoid jobs 
that place unnecessary lim¬ 
itations upon the photog¬ 
rapher, and this is the real 
reason why he should fa¬ 
miliarize himself with the 
peculiarities of lenses. 



Chalky whites, impenetrable blacks, 
ana softness. Halation around lights, 
hare been more pleasing if picture was 
toward the pilaster at the left of the 


Print is too contrasty, lacks detail 
Perspective and arrangement would 
taken front front right hand corner 
fireplace recess. 


Arrangement 
Intentionally have we re¬ 
frained from heading this 
chapter “Composition.” 
We have a variety of griev¬ 
ances against the word. 


By arrangement we have 
here reference to “artistic 
arrangement by an artistic 
mind.” To begin with, only 
that portion of the tile 
work should be selected 












































24 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 



A good example. Every portion clear and distinct. Note that very 
little daylight was available. The reflection on the floor in the background, 
if anything, is desirable, because it lightens up that portion, relieves mo¬ 
notony and accentuates smoothness. The position from which photograph 
was taken seems to have been chosen with great care. Instead of vanishing 
toward the center of the picture, the floor recedes toward a point in the 
upper right-hand third. Clear lights and luminous shadows. The floor is 
given no undue prominence, yet nobody can help noticing it. 


which gives promise of pro¬ 
ducing the best picture. 
Only in rare cases does the 
view of an entire job make 
a pleasing picture. Conse¬ 
quently the artistic and ap¬ 
pealing side should never 
be sacrificed for the sake of 
showing a vast amount of 
tile. 


More or less latitude is 
left to the photographer in 
the choice of a station point 
and the selection of the 
most suitable part of the 
tile work under the best 
possible lighting conditions. 
If he takes pride in his 
work, he will place his 
camera in different posi¬ 
tions, move it back and 






















PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


25 


forth, up and down, till the 
image on the focusing 
screen appeals to his sense 
of proportion, presents a 
satisfactory arrangement, 
shows a relation of parts, 
and forms a tasteful, com¬ 
plete whole. Consciously 
or unconsciously he applies 
certain “principles of com¬ 
position. ” He moves a 
chair here, a table there, a 
vase over there, and so on, 
and this occasional rear¬ 
rangement, addition or re¬ 
moval of a chair, a table, a 
vase, a rug, a flower stand, 
a picture, a curtain, and 
what not, has much to do 
with the production of a 
harmonious, enjoyable pho¬ 
tograph. 

But wait! The heart of 
the matter lies not in pro¬ 
ducing an “original” or un¬ 
usual arrangement. Far 
from it. Artificial arrange¬ 
ment may rob the picture 
of much of its convincing 
powers. And what is balm 
in one case may be poison 
in another. 

Well, how then shall we 
arrange? Let Ruskin an¬ 
swer this question: “It is 
impossible to give you rules 
that will enable you to com¬ 
pose. If it were possible to 


compose pictures by rule, 
Titian and Veronese would 
be ordinary men.” But 
Ruskin never leaves you 
thus in the air, for at an¬ 
other point he says: “The 
principles of composition 
are mere principles of com¬ 
mon sense.” 

Now, common sense tells 
us to apply the following 
principles: Every picture 
must have a principal ob¬ 
ject, the object for which it 
is taken, and this object 
must be emphasized in a 
natural manner. (That’s 
so obvious!) All objects 
of secondary importance 
should be arranged or ap¬ 
pear in a way that the eye 
is led to the principal ob¬ 
ject. And, the principal 
object should be just a trifle 
more insistent in crowding 
itself into the attention of 
the onlooker than the re¬ 
mainder of incidental ob¬ 
jects. This is the principle 
of Principality. 

The next is the principle 
of Completeness — more 
common sense. A picture 
should form a complete 
whole. The subject of the 
photograph should be com¬ 
plete in itself. (This does 
not imply that the whole 
job must be shown). Just as 


26 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


the chapters of a book can 
be complete in themselves, 
so may a certain portion of 
tile work be complete in 
itself. There should be 
nothing in the picture that 
leads the eye beyond the 
edge of the photograph, or 
sets the mind to wondering 
what may be beyond, for 
this would exclude concen¬ 
tration. So, the picture 
should be self-contained. 

The principle of Repeti¬ 
tion can generally be ap¬ 
plied in pictures of tile 
work only where rows of 
windows, columns, chairs, 
etc., are included and may 
help in leading the eye to 
the principal object, or 
where they themselves are 
this chief point of interest. 
Such objects should be pho¬ 
tographed in a way that ex¬ 
cludes any possibility of 
monotony. A row of win¬ 
dows exactly opposite the 
observer and parallel to the 
picture plane without the 
helping influence of per¬ 
spective looks monotonous. 
This would be reiteration, 
not repetition as the artist 
understands the term. 

There is also the princi¬ 
ple of Radiation or the con¬ 
vergence of lines of an in¬ 
terior toward the center of 


interest, applied in accent¬ 
uating importance. Rut all 
of them are common-sense 
laws and further enumera¬ 
tion would only entangle and 
hinder us in freely exercis¬ 
ing our individual taste, 
sense of proportion and 
harmony, and similar prin¬ 
ciples. All are extremely 
flexible, and some uncon¬ 
sciously applied. Moreover, 
the constructive principles 
of each picture are inherent 
in the picture itself, and the 
laws and regulations that 
govern the arrangement of 
one picture cannot be util¬ 
ized in the arrangement of 
another. 

The following general 
hints have been derived 
from experience. The two 
halves or sides of a picture 
should not be congruent. 
The principal object should 
appear slightly toward the 
left or right and below or 
above the center of the pic¬ 
ture. Dome-shaped ceilings 
should not be shown with¬ 
out support. The shaft of 
a column or pillar should 
not come within the picture 
unless the capital or base 
can also be seen. When 
near the camera, pilasters 
at the edges of pictures do 
not close up a picture well. 




PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


27 


Sharpness 

The principal object of 
the picture should be in the 
sharpest focus, at all events, 
since this will act to em¬ 
phasize it. But photogra¬ 
phers go so far as to sub¬ 
ordinate unimportant parts 
by intentionally holding 
them out of focus, and here 
we must object and draw 
the line between commer¬ 
cial photographs—for busi¬ 
ness’ sake — and artistic 
photographs for art’s sake. 
We are not taking pictures 
to satisfy our artistic incli¬ 
nations. While the unim¬ 
portant portions should be 
subservient to the principal 
object, we cannot permit 
mere suggestive treatment 
in photographs of tile work. 
We would very much rather 
have our prints stamped 
“inartistic” than show 
them devoid of definition in 
“unimportant” sections of 
tile work to prospective 
users of tile. For if tile is 
merely suggested it might 
appear as if we had to hide 
some defects; and besides, 
to us, tile work is important 
in every part. Since it is, 
moreover, impractical to 
treat the tile work sepa¬ 
rately and different from 
adjacent materials, we must 


leave the matter as stated. 

Good anastigmatic lenses 
can be stopped down to a 
point of complete focus in 
every part, and this should 
be required in all photo¬ 
graphs of interiors. Ex¬ 
ceptions from this require¬ 
ment are permissible only 
in garden scenes, fountains 
and other exterior work 
where the distance may be 
left in “soft” focus and 
more the way the eye per¬ 
ceives it. 

Joints 

Without reproduction of 
joints, tile work cannot be 
identified as such. Joints 
constitute what might be 
termed a necessary nui¬ 
sance, the reproduction of 
which is of the utmost im¬ 
portance. A t i 1 e wall 
should plainly show the 
joints, else it may be mis¬ 
taken for plaster, marble or 
any other smooth material. 
A photograph of tile work 
showing deficiency in this 
respect is therefore worse 
than useless, and a waste of 
money. 

Faience work presents 
little difficulty since the 
joints are usually wide and 
consequently not subject to 
solarization, to which the 





28 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 



Puzzle: Find the tile. Print was made on matt, rough textured pager. 


disappearance of joints can 
be laid in general. In walls 
of white and very dark tile, 
also in hexagonal vitreous 
floors of very light and very 
deep color, joints have a 
treacherous habit of disap¬ 
pearing. This phenomenon 
needs no explanation here, 
since with exclusive use of 
non-halo plates (see page 
16) for all tile work no 
serious difficulty need be 
feared. No photograph 
should, however, be ac- 
c e p t e d unless it plainly 


shows joints at least in the 
foreground and middle dis¬ 
tance. 

Tile Work in Colors 

The comparative merit 
of a technical or commer¬ 
cial photograph lies not 
only with showing line and 
form in pleasing manner, 
but to an equal degree with 
a truthful rendition of color 
values. This has nothing 
to do with photography in 
natural colors, we still have 
in mind the ordinary photo- 






PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


29 



il 1 

ruj 

iMNnaMMM f] 

iffl 



Only artificial lighting can produce as good a picture as this under the 
circumstances. Note the impressive whiteness of the tile. Despite the 
marble in front, the tile work is the principal object of interest. 


graph, rendered in mono¬ 
chrome. No one wants a 
blue tile to look white or a 
yellow one black. But this 
is exactly what will happen, 
unless we instruct our pho¬ 
tographer to take special 
measures. Truthful color 
values can be secured only 
with special plates and a 
color filter fitted to the lens. 

The panchromatic plate 
with correctly fitted filter 
comes nearest to rendering 
color values as the human 


eye sees them. Orthochro- 
matic plates lack in not ren¬ 
dering the reds. But by far 
the greater number of tile 
subjects in colors can be 
photographed with suffi¬ 
cient accuracy with ortho- 
chromatic plates and a ten- 
times screen. Only where 
reds and yellows predomi¬ 
nate, or are of importance, 
the panchromatic plate and 
its regulation color screen 
are necessary. 

Where not obtainable, 









































































30 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 


panchromatic plates can be 
made by the photographer 
by bathing an ordinary 
plate in isocyanin. 

An orthochromatic plate 
without filter, or an ordi¬ 
nary plate with filter, do 
not produce the desired 
effect; the use of the filter 
would merely lengthen the 
time of exposure. 

Prints 

In every-day photogra¬ 
phy, finish and texture of a 
print are matters of indi¬ 
vidual taste. Some prefer 
highly polished prints, oth¬ 
ers think they cannot enjoy 
a photograph unless it has 
an absolutely dead surface. 
With us, this is a matter 
that has nothing to do with 
preference. Our choice is 
bound and tied by practical 
necessity. We must have a 
glossy surface to show up 
all possible detail and per¬ 
mit its reproduction by 
photo-mechanical printing 
processes. Even in color or 
tone we have a limited 
choice: A pure black print 
or a very deep purplish 
Vandyke brown. Matt 
surfaced prints on rough 
textured paper—no matter 
how artistic that may be— 
are absolutely unsuitable 
for reproduction. 


We know that this is at 
variance with the current 
conception of artistic pho¬ 
tography, but we are bound 
by conditions and cannot 
show weakness to the 
pleadings of any photog¬ 
rapher. 

The print must have 
clear whites and rich shad¬ 
ows, it must have bril¬ 
liancy, snap. It must be 
free from the familiar 
signs of amateur fingers, 
pinholes, air bubbles, white 
or black spots, streaks, 
chemical fogs, cracks and 
scratches. 

Great care must be taken 
that the corners of the crisp 
prints are not bent or 
broken, and NEVER should 
photographs be rolled or 
mailed in tubes. Mail them 
flat, protected on each side 
with corrugated cardboard. 

The best sized photo¬ 
graph for all purposes is 
8 x 10 inches. It fits any 
letter file, it can be mailed 
in standard sized envel¬ 
opes, and has pleasing pro¬ 
portions. 

Prints should be kept un¬ 
mounted, since they take 
less space in files and are 
easier to handle all around. 
If liable to be used a great 
deal, they may be mounted 



PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


31 


on linen, or, better yet, in 
the following manner: The 
print is made on single 
weight paper. A piece of 
Eastman backing paper is 
“squeegeed” on a ferrotype 
plate and the print mounted 
on this as on cardboard. 

When mounted in this 
way the prints have suffi¬ 
cient stiffness to stand up 
without special supports, 
yet take up little room in 
files, and the glossy back 
remains cleaner than linen 
or cardboard. 

Some Common Faults 

If a picture shows all 
perpendiculars slanting to¬ 
ward the same side, it is a 
sure sign that the camera 
was not set up level, but 
tilted toward the left or 
right. 

If these lines are con¬ 
verging—but are straight 
—the camera was tilted 
either up or down, some¬ 
thing that should never be 
done in architectural work. 
The focusing screen should 
always be perfectly perpen¬ 
dicular or parallel to the 
picture plane. 

When any set of straight 
lines of the job appear in 
the picture as curves so 
that the entire view seems 


to be projected on a barrel 
—a fault that is usually ac¬ 
companied by blurred edges 
—an unsuitable and very 
ordinary lens was used for 
the work. The technical 
term for this fault is 
“spherical aberration,” and 
is characteristic of cheap 
lenses. 



Note how the pillars diverge. 

Camera was not leveled up. 

Now and then one will 
run across a picture that is 
sharp in the center, but 
shows blurred edges and 
the corners seem entirely 
out of focus. This may be 
due to various causes, 
though usually the plate 
size was too large for the 
covering capacity of the 
lens. 


























32 


THE ASSOCIATED TILE MANUFACTURERS 



sun-parlor that shows the sunlight. A good picture. 


Another frequent occur¬ 
rence is the distortion of 
the minute squares, hexa¬ 
gons, or rounds of ceramic 
mosaic into short dashes— 
the more elongated, the 
nearer they are to the edges 
of the print and usually 
crossing each other, giving 
a peculiar, unnatural tex¬ 
ture to the floor. So it hap¬ 
pens that sometimes a tile 
floor apparently consists of 
square ceramic, straight 
joints in front, and her¬ 
ringbone in the background. 
This phenomenon is known 
as and results from astig¬ 


matism, traceable to the 
lens. Modern lenses are 
corrected for this defect 
and marketed under the 
name of “Anastigmats.” 

If the entire picture is 
indistinct or not sharp, 
either the camera vibrated 
during exposure or there 
was some carelessness on 
the part of the photogra¬ 
pher in focusing. Some¬ 
times the foreground is 
sharp and the background 
blurred, or vice versa; in 
such instances the dia¬ 
phragm was not stopped 
down sufficiently. 

















PHOTOGRAPHS OF TILE WORK 


33 


The tile dealer cannot, of 
course, be expected to look 
after all these details while 
the exposures are made— 
they are all part of the pho¬ 
tographer’s work. They are 
enumerated here, however, 
for the purpose of judging 
the final result and enab¬ 
ling the dealer to point out 
any shortcomings. 


When confronted with 
special problems not cov¬ 
ered in this booklet, tile 
dealers are requested to 
avail themselves of our 
willingness to assist in solv¬ 
ing such problems. We do 
not pretend for a minute to 
know it all, but within the 
limits of our experience 
and knowledge we shall be 
glad to help. 



A very poor photograph of a fine job. Walls 
seem to be plaster. Scratches on floor. Bad hala¬ 
tion around window. No joints of wall tile shown. 










4 







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0 038 701 620 A 



Alhambra Tile Co. 

American Encaustic Tiling Co., Ltd. 
Atlantic Tile Mfg. Co. 

Beaver Falls Art Tile Co. 

Brooklyn Vitrified Tile Works 
Brunt Tile and Porcelain Co. 
Cambridge Tile Mfg. Co. 

Grueby Faience & Tile Co. 
Matawan Tile Co. 

Mosaic Tile Co. 

National Tile Co. 

Old Bridge E. B. & Tile Co. 

C. Pardee Works 

U. 5. Encaustic 1 ile Works 

Wheeling Tile Co. 

are members of 

THE 

ASSOCIATED 


Newport, Ky. 
Zanesville, O. 
Matawan, N. J. 
Beaver Falls, Pa. 
Brooklyn, N. T. 
Columbus, O. 
Codington, Ky. 

Boston, Mass. 
Matawan, N. J. 
Zanesville, O. 
Anderson, Ind. 
Perth Amboy, N. J. 
Perth Amboy, N. J. 
Indianapolis, Ind. 
Wheeling, W. Va. 


TILE 


III*: 


2 = 


MANUFACTURERS 









